Report: $10 million Bay Bridge deal included book

By the Associated Press | December 13, 2012 | 12:33 AM EST

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A newspaper is reporting that state officials overseeing construction of the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge had agreed to pay nearly $10 million to a San Francisco-based public relations firm for services that included thousands of dollars to conduct tours and produce a video and commemorative book.

The Sacramento Bee reports (http://bit.ly/Z1D85B ) a contract document shows that besides conducting public relations work, Words Pictures Ideas LLC was contracted to produce a "documentary video and book to highlight and document all events leading up to the opening celebrations."

The Bee reports the contract was signed by the California Department of Transportation in August and approved by the state Department of General Services on Sept. 4.

A spokesman for the state Business, Transportation & Housing Agency, which oversees Caltrans, says his agency ordered the contract canceled after Caltrans provided records of the contract to The Bee at the newspaper's request.